Greenwich's Mark Nielsen tees off in front of his Cardinals bag during their match with Bridgeport Wednesday, April 9, 2014, at Fairchild Wheeler golf course in Fairfield, Conn. Bridgeport players carry mismatched golf bags, some donated, while many teams from wealthier towns carry matching team bags.

Daniel Reyes, a senior at Central, walks the Fairchild Wheeler course during a match with Greenwich on April 9. Bridgeport players carry mismatched golf bags, some donated, while many teams from school districts of wealthier towns carry matching bags.

BRIDGEPORT -- The few promising solutions have been exhausted, leaving a dire outlook.

A boys basketball state title has alleviated some frustration, but only for a brief spell. It's early April, and Bridgeport citywide athletic director Neil Kavey knows it would be irresponsible to believe that one sport's success has solved a far-reaching problem.

Outside of boys basketball, teams at the city's three high schools -- Bassick, Central and Harding -- have been mired in futility. Losses have piled up, interest among players has waned, and resources have dwindled.

"Boys basketball to our athletic program can sometimes act like cortisone," Kavey said. "Central wins the state championship, some people get complacent and think all is well. Well, no, the rest of our teams are still struggling.

"It's a double-edged sword. It's a great source of pride, but at the same time you've got to look at it and say, `Yeah, we've got a state championship; what are we doing about softball, baseball, volleyball and everything else?'"

This season alone, all but one team (Central boys basketball, the FCIAC and LL state champions) finished at or below .500. Most, in fact, didn't come close.

"With the exception of boys basketball, we're in over our head in the league that we're in," Kavey said, referring to the FCIAC, the teams' home since 1993. "What it ends up doing, it makes the inner-city games that much more important. You know you're going to be in the game against your rivals."

The past is ugly, but for Bridgeport's long-suffering teams, all enveloped in a culture of losing, there's hope that it will change.

Crunching numbers

Given the few resources he has, Kavey knows he's never in a position to take anything for granted. Wins are scarce, much of the equipment is outdated and field availability is limited.

And money?

"I just always go under the assumption that we're going to be flat-footed," Kavey said, "and take it from there."

Bridgeport athletics continue to be hamstrung by a budget that pales in comparison to the competition in the FCIAC. The 2013-14 athletic budget for the three schools combined was $970,000, Kavey said. By comparison, Darien's budget was at the other end of the spectrum, in the neighborhood of $1.4 million.

Some innovative fundraising, particularly through the Bridgeport Field of Dreams Foundation, keeps hope from fading in the district.

Finances won't improve overnight, however, for Bridgeport, so Kavey has sought another solution. There's hope that a move for Bassick and Harding to the Constitution State Conference beginning in 2015-16 will level the competitiveness. Kavey, in fact, called it a "new day" for both athletic programs after the move cleared the final hurdle in June -- a 6-3 vote in favor by Bridgeport's Board of Education.

"We're hoping that, down the road, this really spikes participation in some of these programs," Kavey said. "We're really hoping that's the case."

If nothing else, it will at least give both schools an opportunity to compete against more opponents with similarly sized pockets. They're not afforded that chance in the FCIAC, playing a majority of their games against schools along Connecticut's Gold Coast.

"We're trying to run three high schools with the same type of money that maybe some towns are running one high school on," Kavey said. "In our league, there are schools with more extensive high school programs -- big-ticket items like hockey, which we don't have -- but still, the three-for-one's pretty tough to do. We do the best we can."

In the CSC -- a 22-team league made up primarily of vocational-technical schools -- Bassick and Harding will play smaller schools with less-established programs. For the 2013-14 school year, Bassick ranked 56th in the state with 1,128 students, while Harding (1,108) was one spot behind.

By comparison, Platt Tech of Milford was the CSC's largest school with 836 students (88th highest). Nine of the 15 schools in Connecticut with the highest enrollment hail from the FCIAC.

"I think they'll have a better chance to have success. I'm not saying wins and losses, just being competitive," said Dave Schulz, the FCIAC president and Ludlowe athletic director. "It's a great thing for them.

"They're going to go into games with a chance to win. It just doesn't happen in the FCIAC."

It doesn't, especially when financial constraints lead to programs being cut. In spite of the problems, the creative minds in Bridgeport have explored other avenues to try and compete.

At Harding, where facilities are "not up to par with the rest of the FCIAC, not even close," athletic director Chris Johnson said, walls in the weight room were repainted to change the culture. Weight-room equipment was donated by the Jewish Community Center last year to all three schools, and certified sports-specific coaches from other schools have volunteered to train athletes in strength and conditioning.

"When you're talking about training, it's a matter of putting the work in," Johnson said. "You could put the work in in a multimillion-dollar facility, or you could put in the work in someone's basement. You're still going to get the same result if you're putting the time and effort in. That's the one thing we're trying to stress to our kids."

Inadequate field space has made training more difficult. At Harding, several teams either cram onto one grassy field adjacent to the school or head to nearby Luis Munoz Marin School or Beardsley Park. Kennedy Stadium, which opened in 1964, is shared by Central and Bassick.

"We go to other schools," Central boys soccer coach Jay Silverman said, "and we see field after field -- practice fields, equipment."

Kavey has ideas on potential solutions to the field problem, but he doesn't expect any quick fixes.

"Here's one thing that I'm jealous of: We need a field house like New Haven does," Kavey said, referring to the Floyd Little Athletic Center. "We need a field house, Bassick needs a home field for football. Parks and Recreation does a great job of scheduling everything that needs to be scheduled at Kennedy Stadium because they run Kennedy Stadium. There are so many different entities to try and squeeze in."

Perhaps the most extensive solution is this: a new Harding High School on a 17.2-acre site that would be donated to the city by General Electric. The $78 million project would include a rubberized track, baseball diamond and a turf field for football and soccer.

Plans for the proposed school, however, have been met with strong objection from some BOE members. The land that was formerly the site of a GE factory must be rid of toxins.

Collecting -- and saving -- talent

Finding talent is one challenge. Developing it and keeping it in Bridgeport is another.

After indoor track was axed at all three schools two years ago, Kavey used the money to start up a collection of middle school programs. Competitive leagues have been formed for flag football and boys and girls basketball. Other sports have been taught more on an instructional level.

"The volleyball and the softball and the baseball, we ran pretty much as an instructional program," Kavey said. "Did they pay to play pickup games in there? Yeah, they did. But the skill level was so low that you just can't start a league. It can't be one school against another. You'd never get a volley going.

"You had to build on the base of skills."

The basketball programs are easily the most expansive, with roughly 300 players spread across 31 teams. The skill level's the most advanced as well, but that doesn't guarantee success for Bridgeport's high school teams. Sometimes, private schools reap the benefits.

"What we end up doing is putting on a free scouting exhibition," Kavey said. "We see coaches from parochial school teams sitting in the stands. Sometimes it can be a Catch-22, but it's way more positive than negative."

Girls basketball, like nearly every other sport in Bridgeport, has struggled mightily on the high school level. Central, which boasts the most accomplished resume of the trio (FCIAC and LL state champions in 1994), finished 7-13 this year. Harding was just 3-17 while Bassick was 0-20.

The constant losing has taken its toll. Morale is "low" around Bassick's program, coach Stephen Nelson said, and interest has dropped. The Lions began this season with 16 players in their program, but they were forced to cancel junior-varsity games later in the year because of low participation.

As bleak as the situation's been, there's belief that a shift of conferences will alleviate the frustrations of some oft-struggling programs at Bassick and Harding. There's also hope that participation, especially in girls' sports, will spike in the process.

"For the great majority of our kids, this is a wonderful move," Kavey said.

There's no certainty, however, that a wave of promising players will be around to improve the situation. Many competing schools have extensive feeder programs to rely on.

Concerns regarding player development extend to other sports. For instance, Joe Pagan, who coaches baseball at Central and for Bridgeport American Legion, expressed disappointment over the Park City Little League program recently being cut after 63 years.

A message from Jan. 20 on Park City LL's Facebook page cited "declining numbers in all three little leagues, the lack of volunteers, and the inability to financially, or with volunteers, care for and repair the fields" as reasons for the demise.

"That east side of Bridgeport is losing that early instruction when it comes to baseball," Pagan said. "I think that's why schools like Harding and Bassick have struggled to get kids on the playing field. ... There's none of that young teaching."

In some cases, the teaching doesn't arrive until later. That's not necessarily a bad thing, however, especially when the coaches are determined to make a difference.

"You try and do as much as you can with what you have," Pagan said. "The coaches in Bridgeport, we're all young, we're motivated to kind of change the dynamic and the philosophy of what's happening.

"When it comes to Bridgeport, you try and make it (baseball) more of a standout sport."

The Legion program has generated interest, with 30 players making up two teams. The $700 league fee, coach and assistant general manager Jimmy Meszoros said, is the cheapest of any team in Zone 4. That money helps fund trips to the Nutmeg State Games in New Britain and to the MJBL World Series in Richmond, Va. Coaches are unpaid volunteers.

Pagan thinks the outlook for the sport is bright, despite the challenges.

"I actually think it's going to grow into something big," Pagan said. "High school baseball is something that a lot of people, even different towns, are getting into again. Legion baseball, a lot of people don't understand, it's Major League Baseball-funded."

Don Wilson has similar hopes for lacrosse. Wilson, the founder and president of Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse, has helped elevate the sport to the varsity level at Central beginning next year.

"We're trying to make a difference in those kids' lives," Wilson said, "and are trying to give them something new that they could actually one day pick up a stick and have that stick be the reason why they go to college."